Finding the right legal aid lawyer

You can take or send your LAO-issued certificate to a private practice lawyer who accepts legal aid cases. If the lawyer acknowledges the certificate, he or she agrees to represent you for a specified number of hours, in a legal proceeding, up to and including a trial.

visit legalaid.on.ca/find and type in your location and the area of law you need help in—a list of lawyers in your area will show up

ask the lawyer at court (also known as duty counsel) for a referral list

go to the Law Society of Upper Canada’s online service at lsrs.lsuc.on.ca/lsrs or call 1-855-947-5255

ask for referrals from your local community legal clinic

Choosing the right lawyer

Make sure the lawyer you choose is right for you—LAO rarely allows you to change your lawyer once you hire one.

The following questions can help you decide on a lawyer:

What area of law do you specialize in?

How much experience with or knowledge about my kind of case do you have?

Here is what I hope will happen—is this realistic?

What are my legal options?

Will someone in your office handle an important part of my case, such as appearing in court?

Where is your office?

How can I contact you?

You may need to meet with a few lawyers before you find one who best meets your needs.

Planning for your first meeting

Bring all of your court papers.

Prepare a list of questions to ask.

Be prepared to explain your legal issues clearly and limit the number of emails you send and calls you make—your certificate gives your lawyer a certain number of hours for each stage of your case. Time spent on emails and talking to you counts towards these hours and uses time that the lawyer could spend preparing for your case.

Bring along paper so you can write down what the lawyer tells you.

Bring someone to translate if the lawyer doesn’t have an interpreter.

Discuss how and when you will get in touch after this meeting.

Ask whether someone else will handle an important part of your case, such as appearing in court.

If you don’t understand something, ask for an explanation.

Call ahead if you cannot attend your appointment, and make another date.

Contacts

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO), an independent but publicly funded and publicly accountable non-profit corporation. None of this material may be commercially reproduced, but copying for other purposes, with credit, is encouraged.